North Korea has threatened to carry out more weapons tests after it fired its fourth set of projectiles in less than two weeks following the start of joint exercises between the United States and South Korea.
The statement comes just an hour after the North fired on Tuesday “two projectiles that are assumed to be short-range ballistic missiles” from South Hwanghae province on its west coast.
The missiles flew about 450km across the peninsula and into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, reaching an altitude of 37km and a speed of “at least Mach 6.9”, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
Pyongyang said the combined military drills being carried out by South Korea and the US were a “flagrant violation” of the process.
The North has fired a series of missiles and rockets since its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump agreed at a June 30 meeting to revive stalled denuclearisation talks.
North’s foreign ministry said the drills, which Pyongyang sees as an invasion rehearsal, leave the country “compelled to develop, test and deploy the powerful physical means essential for national defence”.
Trump has played down the tests by saying they did not break any agreement he had with Kim but the talks have yet to resume.
Analysts believe the tests are designed to improve North Korean military capabilities and to pressure Washington to offer more concessions.
A senior Trump administration official said: “We continue to monitor the situation and are consulting closely with our South Korean and Japanese allies.”
